[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6640-6641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3212]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project Nos. 935, 2071, 2111, and 2213]
PacificCorp (Public Utility District No. 1 of Cowlitz County);
Notice of Request To Use Alternative Procedures in Filing License
Applications, Defer Action on a Future License Application, and
Accelerate a License Expiration Date
February 4, 1999.
By letters dated January 21, 1999, PacifiCorp and Public Utility
District No. 1 of Cowlitz County (licensees) have asked to use an
alternative procedure in filing applications for new licenses for
PacifiCorp's Merwin Project No. 935, Yale Project No. 2071, Swift No. 1
Project No. 2111, and Cowlitz PUD's Swift No. 2 Project No. 2213. The
projects are located in sequence on the North Fork Lewis River in
Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania Counties, Washington. License applications
are due to be filed on: April 30, 1999 for the Yale Project; April 30,
2004, for the Swift No. 1 and No. 2 Projects; and December 11, 2007,
for the Merwin Project.
The licensees are proposing to consolidate the relicensing of these
projects under a single process which would involve accelerating the
license expiration for the Merwin Project to April 30, 2006, and
delaying action on the Yale Project application. An applicant-prepared
environmental assessment would be filed on all four projects by April
30, 2004, when the Swift No. 1 and No. 2 applications are due.
The licensees have demonstrated that they've made a reasonable
effort to contact the resource agencies, Indian tribes, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs), and others who may be affected by
their proposal, and have submitted a communication protocol governing
how participants in the proposed process may communicate with each
other. The licensees have also submitted several letters of support for
their proposal, and it appears that the use of an alternative procedure
may be appropriate in this case.
The purpose of this notice is to invite comments on the licensees'
request to use alternative procedures, as required under the final rule
for Regulations for the Licensing of Hydroelectric Projects.\1\ We are
also interested in comments on the proposal to delay action on the Yale
license application, and accelerate the termination date for the Merwin
Project license. Additional notices seeking comments on specific
project proposals, interventions and protests, and recommended terms
and conditions will be issued at a later date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 81 FERC 61,103 (1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The alternative procedure being requested here would combine the
prefiling consultation process with the environmental review process,
allowing the applicants to file an applicant-prepared Preliminary Draft
Environmental Assessment (PDEA) in lieu of Exhibit E of the license
applications. This differs from the traditional process, in which the
applicant consults with agencies, Indian tribes, and NGOs during
preparation of the application for the license and before filing it,
but the Commission staff performs the environmental review after the
application is filed. The alternative
[[Page 6641]]
procedures are intended to reduce redundancies in the licensing process
by combining the prefiling consultation and environmental review
processes into a single process, to facilitate greater participation,
and to improve communication and cooperation among the participants.
The alternative procedures can be tailored to the particular project
under consideration.
Alternative Procedures and the Lewis River Projects
The licensees intend on preparing a PDEA for the projects to:
consolidate and streamline the licensing process; provide for the early
identification of environmental impacts; take into account cumulative
project impacts and evaluate alternatives for addressing those impacts;
and promote early, comprehensive settlement discussions. The licensees
propose a watershed approach to studies of potential cumulative
project-related environmental effects in the Lewis River Basin. The
watershed studies would serve as the scientific basis for the PDEA,
including prefiling consultation, and would facilitate scoping of
environmental issues under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). The studies would also provide scientific data and information
to support the licensees' applications for individual new licenses for
the projects and to facilitate comprehensive settlement negotiations.
The licensees plan on submitting a PDEA in lieu of Exhibit E in the
project license applications. Each application would include a common
multi-project PDEA adapted, as necessary, to each individual
application.
Yale License Application and Interim Measures
PacifiCorp intends on submitting a license application for the Yale
Project when it is due on April 30, 1999. The pre-filing consultation
process for the Yale Project is currently at the draft application
stage. The draft application calls for the near-term implementation of
several environmental measures that are also listed in PacifiCorp's
request to use the alternative procedures (Attachment 1). PacifiCorp
proposes to implement those measures, and to consider reasonable
proposals for other resource enhancement measures (i.e., measures to be
implemented during the current license period and any subsequent annual
licenses before issuance of a new project license) that relate to the
Yale relicensing and do not ``prejudge'' the results of the watershed
studies or comprehensive settlement discussions.
Merwin License Term
PacifiCorp's request includes an application to amend the Merwin
Project license to accelerate the license expiration date from December
11, 2009 to April 30, 2006 to coordinate the Merwin license expiration
with the expiration of the Swift No. 1 and No. 2 Project licenses.
Therefore, applications for new licenses on all three projects would be
due on April 30, 2004. PacifiCorp's application to accelerate the
Merwin license is predicated on: (1) the Commission approving the
licensees' request to use the alternative procedures; (2) the
Commission deferring action on the Yale application until the Merwin,
Swift No. 1 and Swift No. 2 applications are filed; and (3) the
effective date of all four new licenses being no sooner than May 1,
2006.
Comments
Interested parties have 30 days from the date of this notice to
file with the Commission, any comments on the licensees' proposal to
use the alternative procedures to file applications for the Yale, Swift
No. 1, Swift No. 2, and Merwin Projects, including the request to delay
action on the Yale application, and accelerate the termination date for
the Merwin license. The licensees request may be viewed on the web at
www.ferc.fed.us. Call 202-208-2222 for assistance.
Filing Requirements
Any comments must be filed by providing an original and 8 copies as
required by the Commission's regulations to: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Office of the Secretary, Dockets--Room 1A, 888 First
Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426.
All comment filings must bear the heading ``Comments on the
Alternative Procedure,'' and include the project names and numbers
(Yale Hydroelectric Project, No. 2071, Swift No. 1 Hydroelectric
Project, No. 2111, Swift No. 2 Hydroelectric Project, No. 2213, and the
Merwin Hydroelectric Project, No. 935). For further information, please
contact Vince Yearick at (202) 219-3073 or e-mail at
[email protected].
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-3212 Filed 2-9-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M